Unconventional Love
by Smittendwarf
Summary: To everyone else, our relationship was unorthodox. But to us... To us it was just how we've always been. We were more than just family. We were soul mates. Nothing could keep us apart. Not even death. Warning: Themes of Incest, Language and possible Sexual Content.
1. Prologue

**A/N** I'm forewarning anyone who reads this story now. If the summary didn't give you a hint, then here it is, put plainly, this fanfiction includes _**incest. **_I've warned you now, so if you've got a problem with it, then just exit this page and find something else to read.

So far it's only rated T, some language, some sexual situations later on. Maybe the rating will change, maybe it won't. Not too sure on lemons or not, haven't really tried to seriously write one before.

Hope you enjoy!

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_**\- 983 A.D.** -_

"Tell me."

"Are you sure? What is _Seen _cannot be unseen, you know this."

Long thin fingers smoothed over the bulging stomach, rubbing soothing circles against the shifting skin under the fabric of her dress in comfort.

"Yes. As I've said with my previous sons, I need to know what will become of the newest member of our family. I need to know if he will be strong enough to survive. I _need _to."

The dark skinned woman acknowledged her words with a nod. She shifted forward upon the scuffed wooden seat to lay her palm against her closest friends swollen belly. The other cupped against the woman's forearm in a gentle hold. Her dark eyes closed and she breathed in deeply.

The air seemed to crackle with energy as she pulled at nature's life force and called to her ancestors to give her strength. When the vision came to her, it hit her fast, and it hit her hard. Almost like a punch to her gut, she was no longer seeing her dearest friend, but was instead _Seeing _what was to come.

_ Three children ran, their giggles smothered by dirty palms. Their footsteps loud with snapping twigs as they raced amongst the trees. The first child was recognized as the third eldest, his blond hair catching the sunlight through the leaves. He ducked beneath a tree limb before reaching up and catching it between his hands. Using what little upper body strength he had, he raised his legs and swung himself up onto the thick branch. He hissed as his palms were scraped from the rough bark, but continued up onto the next higher tree limb._

_ "Nik, we're not big enough. We can't climb up there. It's too high."_

_ The prepubescent voice caused the elder brother to scowl down at the two. "Then find somewhere else to hide. Better be quick though, 'Lijah should almost be done counting."_

_ The boy on the ground watched the other scurry further up the tree, the glare on his face emanating what he couldn't say._

_ A light tugging on his sleeve had him sighing in frustration._

_ "Kol, you can climb up there. You _should_ climb up there. I'll be alright. I'll find a bush or something to hide in."_

_ The brown haired boy looked to the frail girl beside him. Her ragged breathing and the dark bruises beneath her eyes let him know she was exhausted, that she should have been back at the homestead, resting, instead of running through the woods playing their game of choice. But her tired face held a timid smile, and her dark eyes, eyes the exact shade of brown as his, shone with an apprehension he couldn't deny._

_ Kol's hand reached for hers, her little finger immediately hooking around his. "We'll find somewhere together. I'll never leave you alone, Natalya. Never."_

Esther's question was answered. The child would not only live past his fifth year, but he would come with a gift. The first girl of the family to be born in the New World. Twins.

The blonde woman pondered what that smile on the other woman's face could mean and her excitement began to rise. It could only mean good things were to come.

"Ayana-"

The witch's grip on Esther's arm became a firm one, her hand tightening uncomfortably. Esther didn't dare move. She knew what Ayana's visions were like.

Foresight began to take hold of the witch once more, coming in quick snippets, nothing solid, but more telling than any previous vision of _Sight_ she had had of Esther's previous children. Laughter brought on by happiness, tears of anguish, fatigue caused by sickness, sighs of ecstasy and pleasure, screams of pain, roars of anger, the unyielding feeling of vulnerability and fear as a sharp pain appeared over her chest. And there was blood. Blood so dark and so full of life that it confused her. It all lead to one lasting vision,

_"Kol?"_

_ "Yes, darling?"_

_ "...You know I love you." There was no query to her tone._

_ Kol curled a lock of her wild hair around his forefinger. "And I you, more than life itself."_

_ Natalya raised her head from his bare chest and rested her chin against the faint beating of his heart._

_ "Until the end of time?"_

_ "Until the end of time."_

The last thing Ayana saw before the end of the mental image was Kol's lips molded to that of his sister's as he rolled the two of them over, passion taking them.

The girl's soft sighs were still ringing in her ears as she jolted away from Esther. The shock of what she'd felt, what she'd seen, held her tongue fast in those next few moments.

"What did you see?"

The witch stilled, her eyelids clenched shut. What was she to tell the expecting mother? That her second daughter born of her flesh would only know illness from her first breath? That the newest additions to their family would grow to love one another in a way that was more than familial? That the pain she'd felt in her chest meant the death of one, causing the broken heart to be the undoing of the other.

Ayana's eyes opened calmly to see anxious light eyes peering back at her. The expression of a mother frightened at the prospect of what her closest friend and mentor would tell her kept the truth from springing forth out into the open air between them. What to tell her indeed?

With one last deep breath, Ayana relaxed into a forced optimistic grin. "A boy, Esther. You will have a new son to add to the brood... Along with a daughter. Good tidings are coming your way."

Because what else could she say?

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_I hope you liked it! Hopefully I will be able to update at least once month, maybe sooner. We'll see. Don't forget to please review!_


	2. The taste of Blueberries

**A/N** Okay, so this was totally sooner than I originally told you all, but I had it done. And it needed to be posted. I've had this particular idea since January of last year floating in and out of my head. I had some of it written down and my computer just so happened to crash on me. I only just recently got it back after months and months of not being able to afford a new motherboard and my muse came along with it. So you all get a new chapter to go along with the first. A small peek into who Natalya Mikaelson is.

BTDubs, I don't have a Beta. Any and all mistakes fall on my head, so if you find any glaringly obvious blunders, please let me know.

**4/28/15 Edit:** Like, seriously, not even two minutes after I posted I read through the chapter on the site and found several misspelled words or letters just left hanging out all by their lonesome. So, _some_ of them have been fixed.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Vampire Diaries. Wish I could say that I did, but I don't. I would be sooo rich by now.

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**_\- Present -_**

The time waking up after being daggered for so long was never pleasant. Because what little blood that was left in the body had to scrape through dried up veins to reach vital organs in order for the host to come back to life. It was easier if there was fresh blood on hand. With one gulp, the skin would fade back to its original pinkish color, with two the lungs would take in air much steadier, the cobwebs disintegrating for them to inflate more fully. With the third sip motor functions would be entirely accessible.

For my siblings, being undaggered was painless to get through. All it would take is for the silver blade to be removed from their chests, twenty minutes to an hour for motor functions to return, and they were up and alive, if not ravenous. It was an effortless process, one that came easily to them.

For me, it was like hell on earth. The last time the dagger was pulled from my heart it took over six hours for me to recover. The second the blade was gone, my conscious had woken, but my body did not. It would take a few hours for my hearing to return and for my skin to soften from its stone like appearance. I could feel nothing but hunger clenching my belly and aching lungs starving for breath. To a vampire, breathing was second nature. Something carried over from when we were human. Oxygen wasn't required and neither was it essential to live, but tell that to someone who spent their childhood constantly trying to catch their breath.

I always came out of death so abruptly that I was still paralyzed with a hardened body and a fear of never being able to move again for the rest of eternity while staying 'awake'.

This time was no different. The blade was gone but I could still feel it digging deep into my heart. I didn't know where I was, who I was with, or how long I had been dead. There was no way of telling how long it had been since the dagger was removed. It had to have been a few hours at the most because I could faintly hear voices nearby. It was like listening to the radio after broadcasting hours. At first there was a crackling static and then clearing enough for a word or two to come through. Familiar tones were softly murmuring into my ear and a harsh ranting came from nearby.

_"...moving her?"_

_ "No...don't touch-"_

_ "She needs..."_

_ "Niklaus, don't you dar-"_

My family. If I could breathe a sigh of relief, I would.

After a while I could tell there was a presence at my side. Eventually being able to feel their touch as they ran their fingers down my arm, smoothed hair away from my face, and the tip of a nose grazing against my cheek, their breath lingering on my skin. I would be waking completely soon.

The deep seeded hunger resting in my belly blossomed into an insatiable thirst. I could feel flesh start to soften and I was able to command my fingers into a minute twitch of movement. In the end, what revitalized blood left in my veins managed to make the journey to my heart.

My wakening was subtle for the most part. I inhaled sharply and my eyes opened to a blurry beige colored ceiling. My vision focused enough to sense a familiar male form standing above me.

"K-Kol," a husky voice rasped. My throat ached from neglect.

Long fingers traced my cheek before picking up my hand and patting it lovingly. "My dear, Natalya."

A soft smile graced my lips. I recognized that voice. "'Lijah."

"Yes." His shape became more defined as my sight cleared. My eyes flittered over his sharp features, so like Kol's it was no wonder I'd mistaken him for the youngest Mikaelson brother. His hair was shorter than I remembered it being, but his suits were still pressed and fit perfectly to his frame.

"Looking very d-dapper, brother."

He grinned and reached down to lift my body. Once sitting up, he put an arm around my back to hold me there against his chest. He turned his head and extended his free arm out for something I couldn't see.

"W-where's Kol?"

Elijah glanced down at me with a frustrated look. "He's being stubborn, as usual. Here," his hand came back into view with a few clear packets filled with a liquid so dark a red it looked black.

I eyed it suspiciously. He set all but one down near my bare legs. Reaching a finger out, I poked the offered object. It was warm.

"I have almost forgotten that you've been daggered for over a century. The last time you saw something like this, it was in glass bottles. It's blood." Elijah lifted the packet and bit a corner off with his teeth.

The instant the scent of copper filled the air I was scrambling to lift it to my lips. At first my brother held it to my mouth, but my limbs quickly gained the strength needed to hold it on my own and I ripped it out of his hands.

"Where's Kol?" I asked once more. The blood leaked from between full lips as I spoke between swallows. It spilled down my chin and soaked into the already bloodied dress I was wearing.

Elijah frowned. "He's out with Niklaus getting you a human. He insists that you won't recover fully without fresh human blood."

I tilted my head back as I sucked the last of the blood from the now empty packet. My mind raced over the thought of Niklaus doing anything for me after sticking a dagger in my chest, but, I guess, that's what I should have expected from him. Kill the family, then try to love them to death with a dash of guilt thrown in while they made an attempt on his life.

"He is right. This will not last long, 'Lijah. You should know this."

He reached down and produced another liquid filled packet from where he'd set them in the coffin. "We have plenty of these bags. Times are different now, we don't necessarily need fresh blood. These are just as good."

He ripped off another corner and handed it to me. As I put the newest bag to my lips, he lay a kiss upon my brow and stood back to watch me finish the second round of blood. It was good, tasty even, and it revived me enough to give me the strength to hold myself up. But I could also taste the dying cells as it slipped down my throat. I needed more. I needed it fresh. And I needed it now.

Lowering the packet, I stretched languidly and inhaled deeply. Blood filled my belly and now it rushed through the rest of my body. It was like a filtered down cup of water from the Fountain of Youth had been given to me. But it most definitely wasn't enough.

The man beside my coffin held a hand up for me and I reached out. My fingers closed in his as I lifted myself from the confines of the wooden box. I hopped down, wobbling slightly, and my bare feet touched the hardwood floor. The skirt of my decades old off-white dress brushed roughly against my skin and fluttered against my shins. The rust colored stains were spattered across the fabric, and my feet were covered in flaky dried blood.

When I was sufficiently stable, Elijah retreated a few steps away and watched as I peered around the room. There were three other coffins surrounding mine. All of them stood open and all of them were empty.

"A century?"

Elijah's eyes questioned me.

"You said it's been over a century since I've been daggered."

He nodded. "Yes. Much longer than last time."

"Has anyone else been awake since then?"

"Just me. Rebekah was daggered in the twenties. She was recently woken not long ahead of the rest of you before once again..."

"Being stabbed to death," I finished for him. I inhaled sharply. My lungs were beginning to ache once more. I moved closer to the coffin nearest me. Kol's scent saturated the inside. My fingers lingered across the pillow at the head of the casing. "...and Finn?"

Elijah made to speak, but movement from the other side of the room had me turning to find my eldest brother pulling away from where he'd been leaning against the wall in the corner, having been unseen from my cursory glance about the room. I instantly froze, my hand coming to clench at the pillow beneath my touch. I felt it come apart as my nails pierced the fabric.

"Natalya."

He said my name with such contempt. His face was set in a mask of scrutiny, his brows furrowed and his lips in the beginnings of a grimace. We had never gotten along. Even as children he had turned a cold shoulder towards me, never speaking with me unless absolutely necessary. His demeanor was warmer towards Kol, but if he could help it, he ignored us for the most part.

Elijah shifted beside me. It reminded me that my loving, moral brother was still in the room. Finn wouldn't do anything to upset the peacekeeper of the family, would he? I relaxed my fingers from the now ripped pillow.

"Finn. Looking miserable... as always."

I studied his tense features and took him in fully for the first time in centuries. His dark hair was long, reaching his shoulders and looking only a bit unkempt. His trousers were made of the finest leather and his dark green tunic still looked as pristine as it had been when he'd first been daggered. Death didn't keep everyone from looking their best, it seemed.

"Still regretting the thought of our existence? Or has your nine hundred year _death _given you a different perspective?"

In a split second Finn was across the room and shoving me into what used to be Kol's resting place. I could feel wood breaking beneath my body and we crashed to the floor as his hands circled my throat. His fingernails dug into the back of my neck as he squeezed. I didn't fight. It was foolish to even try. I didn't have the energy to push him off let alone wrestle him to the ground to fight back and dominate.

Over his shoulder, I could see Elijah about to rush in to intervene. I held up a hand to stop him in his tracks. The expression on his face indicated he would rather do anything but what I asked of him.

When we were younger, Elijah was the one who was by my side to lift me up and take me home after playing too hard in the woods, Kol lingering close by to make sure he wouldn't drop me. He was the one I would go to when Mikael became that much more of a menace than he usually was as he dragged Kol away on his first hunting trip, my brother looking back to catch one last worried glimpse of me. He was the one to tuck me in at night alongside my twin, a kiss upon the forehead and a gentle smile falling down on me. To him I was still the frail, sick little sister from his childhood. I think I always would be. But I was a Mikaelson, and he knew more than anyone that we always fought our own battles.

With Finn growling down into my face, I grimaced in pain and fastened my fingers around his wrists.

"Are you forgetting that you are the reason for my daggering, _little sister_?" His grip tightened, cutting the low airflow into my lungs even more.

"N-not even going to tr-try and blame dear R-Rebekah for that one, are we?"

"Rebekah may have brought the Brotherhood to our doorstep, but you encouraged them with your words."

His grip was becoming too much. When he saw me trying to respond, his fingers loosened a tad.

"So I suggested you go first. That you were the most ruthless and needed to be put down quick before you slaughtered them all. They were going to kill me, I acted without thinking. You would have done the same. Besides, Niklaus took care of them all on his own. He didn't have to let you stay dead. Not my fau-"

The rest of my words were choked off as he squeezed with all his might. I sputtered for air.

Elijah was a blur as he charged to our side and gripped Finn's shoulders to wrench him back. Now on his feet, all it did was lift me into the air as he was being pulled away. Finn couldn't kill me by suffocating me, but he was sure as hell going to try. I could see traces of black lines appearing around the edges of his eyes and his anger was unleashed.

_Careful, brother, your vampire is showing._

When my eldest brothers handhold got to be too much, as in my spine coming apart as he lifted me higher, Elijah finally struck out and jerked Finn's head to the side, his neck snapping with a crunch.

As Finn's dead weight dropped to the floor, I took deep gulping breaths and the oxygen quickly flooded my lungs. I myself almost fell as my knees gave out, but Elijah was there, his gentle hands gathering me into his chest. He pulled me across the room and through the open door, leaving Finn's body behind. I knew he'd be fine after a half hour or so. We always were.

The bones in my neck were sliding back into place. The pain from my skull almost detaching from my spine was fading slower than it should have. I needed to sleep, and I needed to feed. More than anything though, I needed Kol.

Unknowingly, tears began to cascade down my cheeks. I needed my twin. I felt Elijah's hand cradle the back of my neck as he guided me through the foyer to what looked like a dining room. There was a fireplace against the wall, a round table and chairs set up in the middle of a finely woven rug, and a dark leather settee beneath the clear, wide windows showing it to be nighttime. I wasn't interested in taking in much more of the décor. He moved me to the couch, gingerly nudging me down and kneeling before me.

"Why?"

Elijah shushed me under his breath, begging me not to continue.

"Why does he do this to me, 'Lijah?"

My brother looked at me solemnly, not answering.

My eyes watered even more. "I want Kol."

Distant laughter could be heard from beyond the walls of the house as something slammed into the door of the front room. There was a shuffling and I heard a door open from the room next door. The laughter that had echoed into the empty open room cut off at once. Elijah stood and stepped away from me, watching on as a familiar voice whispered into my ears.

"Talya?"

Straightaway I was on my feet and across the room only to meet him halfway. He hadn't changed at all. His tall stature was still a couple inches above mine, his eyes the same dark brown, his angular face so similar to my own, just more masculine. He was still dressed as he had been when he'd been daggered, although it was spattered in fresh blood from a recent kill.

Kol stared down at me, his hands resting on either side of my face and his thumbs wiping away residual tears. His eyes searched mine as he drew me in close. His forehead lowered to rest against mine and his eyes closed. Simultaneously we each took in a breath, drawing in each others scent.

"Hello, darling."

"Hello, sweetheart."

This was my brother. My twin. My other half.

Being in his arms again was indescribable. There were no words to tell how right it felt to shift closer and wrap my arms around his waist, my hands running up his back to clench at his shoulders. One of his hands stroked my lower back while the other ran fingers through my waist length hair.

I could've stayed like this forever.

My eyes opened at a scuffle and I watched with a blank stare over Kol's shoulder as my only blond haired brother sauntered into the room to lean against the open door frame. At the concerned look on his face, my body tensed and my nose dove into the side of Kol's neck to keep calm.

"Finn's neck has been snapped, dear siblings. What has he done?"

The sound of his voice made my skin crawl and I shuddered. The hand in my hair fastened firmly. I felt Kol's lips leave a soft kiss amongst the strands against the side of my head.

"What he always does when they see each other." Elijah's voice came from further away. There was a clinking of glass meeting glass and liquid being poured. A curious sniff told me it was scotch. Fifty or so years old, I think. I could hear him swallow it and then pour himself another glass.

Kol moved to speak softly into my ear, "Are you alright?"

Licking my lips to wet them, I leaned back to regard his face. "I'm fine. No worse than last time."

And I _was _fine. It had happened before and I knew it would happen again in the future. We had all of eternity to repeat this same cycle. The family believed he had this hatred for me, and Kol to an extent, because of his lost sister so long ago. But I knew better. I knew where the disgust on his face stemmed from. I had a feeling that Elijah had his suspicions, but he never mentioned anything. At least not to me.

Kol's dark eyes scanned me for reassurance. I knew just by the look on his face that he was envisioning the last time we'd met up with Finn before our encounter with the Five. I also knew that the marks from his choke hold still remained. The pain was mostly gone, so the bruises had to be almost faded completely by now.

"Where are the daggers?"

His words didn't surprise anyone. Kol was known to be quick to anger. Especially if it involved myself and Finn in the same sentence. I could see Niklaus roll his eyes out of the corner of my own. "Now, brother, remember what happened the last time you tried to kill him?"

Kol released me to turn around and face him head on. His hand unconsciously moved to my own and our fingers intertwined. I sighed and rested my head against his arm and watched the spat about to occur. I hated when our family would fight. It always got messy.

Anger riddled my twin's voice as he retorted, "I remember him getting a stake to the heart and his head almost ripped off."

"I remember it quite differently," Niklaus chuckled darkly.

"Of course you would, Nik," Kol cocked his head to side. "Because you were the one standing off to the side holding back Natalya as Finn stole my daylight ring and I almost burned to death."

I stiffened. The conversation had taken a turn and was becoming uncomfortable. Elijah, always the mediator, paced the floor to stand between Niklaus and Kol and I. He swirled the drink still in his hand and looked between the three of us. He let out a frustrated sigh before passing the crystal glassware into my eager hands. He knew I loved scotch. I raised the glass and tossed back the liquor. The burning sensation was much needed as I drank.

"That was the past. This is the present. Let bygones be bygones. Let us all try and keep calm shall we? We have bigger matters to worry about than childish squabbles from nine hundred years ago."

Kol and Niklaus continued to glare at each other. I peered down into the empty glass and frowned. Elijah readjusted his stance and folded his arms, his gaze stern as he contemplated the two. Without thinking, I hurled the glass at Niklaus' head.

Of course, it never met its intended target. He tilted his head to the side at the last second and the scotch glass soared past him through the open doorway only to shatter across the floor behind him. His deadly gaze was now set upon me.

"I wouldn't do something like that again if I were you, little sister."

I scoffed. "Why? Going to dagger me? Go ahead, it's not like you haven't done it before."

His glare softened into a smirk. "Glad to have you back, little Nattie. I've missed you _so _dearly."

"Piss off."

Niklaus' eyebrows shot up and he looked to Elijah. "I figured her wrath would have been well served elsewhere. Considering how upset she is with me, you haven't told her yet, have you?"

Elijah's jaw clenched. "No, I have not. There wasn't any time between her waking and Finn trying to kill her to even mention it."

My eyes flickered between the two. Kol's hand clutched at mine tightly. "What's going on? Tell me what?"

Niklaus turned his attention back to me and opened his mouth.

"Leave it."

The elder brothers looked to Kol in surprise.

"She needs to know, Kol," Elijah argued. "She needs to be prepared for when she sees moth-"

Kol spoke over him. "What she needs is to eat, and to rest. We can tell her tomorrow after she's recuperated." He gazed down at me with an affection I'd only seen from him when looking at me. "Neither of you even noticed her skin was still pale enough for her to be _dead_, did you? Those _blood bags_ you've been raving about aren't going to help her, Elijah. She needs to feed."

After a moment of silence Niklaus moved aside from the doorway and swung an arm out. "Well, then by all means, let her feed. We'll tell her tomorrow." He gave me a once over and nodded his head in the direction of the door. "Supper's in there."

My twin led me across the room. As we passed Niklaus, he raised an eyebrow at my vacant glance at him. I sniffed aloud and turned up my nose to him... only to peek back one last time. In a weird roundabout way, he had silently apologized for plunging a dagger into me, and I'd accepted. It was no use holding a grudge when you live forever. Hating someone for eternity would have been exhausting.

His quiet chuckles followed us into the next room. The foyer that Elijah had dragged me through was gigantic. It had a large, split grand staircase, marble floors and crystal chandeliers. It was very lavish. I could only assume that Niklaus had designed the floor plan. It seemed like something he would put together.

Kol released my hand to lower his arm around my waist. His grip firm, he lifted me up, my bare feet dangling over the broken shards of the crystal glass as his laced leather boots crunched atop it. When he saw fit that there was no more glass underfoot, he set me back down and turned me in the direction of where a middle aged redheaded woman was calmly standing amongst the open floor plan. Her professional business suit seemed almost awkward on her frame as her figure straightened into a fine line. The dull look in her eyes lead me to believe that she had been compelled.

"Meet Maggie. Low on the totem pole lawyer, had a deadbeat father, whore mother, and is a single parent to two children. Loves dirty martinis, body pillows, and younger men. Oh, and her favorite color is purple."

As Kol spieled off more useless information about this woman, things he had no doubt learned after the compulsion had taken over, I wandered closer, slowly moving one foot in front of the other to reach her. As the predator in me circled her stock-still body, my eyes rove up her clothing to her slicked back hair. Coming to a standstill in front of her I noticed I was only an inch taller than her. The glittering of her diamond earrings distracted me for a moment before the loud thumping of her heart caught my attention.

My eyes fluttered closed at the sound. At the edges of my senses I could feel the two elder Mikaelson brothers in the nearby vicinity, their presence lingering at the edge of the room. I knew they were watching. Waiting.

Kol's voice had tapered off not long after I'd finished circling her. A brush of air against the back of my neck had me tilting my head to look back at him. The amusement in his eyes shone brightly and he smirked.

"Doesn't she smell delicious. Like blueberries in the summertime."

I inhaled, silently agreeing with him.

The soft touch of his lips against my ear made me shiver. "I know how you love blueberries. You must be famished, darling, and I think it's time you _feasted_ upon her flesh."

A delicate hand reached up to pat his chest. "I do believe you are right, brother. I'll tell you if she tastes as good as she smells."

Stalking forward, I shifted so her eyes were staring right into mine. When I knew I had her attention, the compulsion took over.

"This is going to hurt. And while some of my family would rather eat in peace, that's just not who I am." I leaned closer, the terror in the woman's green eyes exciting me. Smirking, I licked my lips. "I want you to _scream_."

Before she could bat an eyelash, I'd released my fangs, pulled her head to the side to reveal her smooth, pale neck, and harshly dug my teeth into her warm flesh. Her terrified shrieks started immediately. Kol's laughter mixed in and it was music to my ears.

Poor Maggie's hot blood filled my taste buds with such sweetness it made me moan. Gnawing my fangs in deeper, I drank as much of this woman's life force as I could, trying not to lose any of it and make a mess. The harsh grip of my fingers against her chin caused her jaw to break as I tilted her head even further to uncover a wider expanse of her neck. Her pained screams gurgled off into loud whimpers. At the fringes of my hearing, after recalling the idle talk the next day after having slept, was Niklaus murmuring thoughtfully to Elijah.

"And you thought I was bad."

What I wasn't able to see was my brother agreeing wordlessly.

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**A/N** Other than the first six episodes or so, is it bad that I haven't watched the latest season of either The Vampire Diaries or the Originals? I feel horrible for not watching for any information that would help with the story (especially in the Originals), but I just haven't had the time to watch them. Anything I should know?

Thanks to those of you who reviewed and those who favorited and followed.

Anywho, drop me a line to tell me what you think.

Tweaks out.


	3. Angry Potatoes

**A/N** The past is what creates the future, so I thought I'd keep with every other chapter telling Natalya and Kol's story from the beginning to where they are now. So, all of the dates I'm going to be posting are estimated by me using the Vampire Diaries/Originals wiki page. I really hope they're right. If not, let me know and I'll get them changed pronto. By the way, there's, y'know, birth in this chapter. Nothing graphic whatsoever, but I just thought I'd warn you.

Just letting you all know that I don't have a Beta. Any and all mistakes fall on my head, so if you find any glaringly obvious blunders, please let me know.

By the way, I have a feeling that the past chapters are going to be shorter until they're years older.

Anyways, enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Vampire Diaries. Wish I could say that I did, but I don't. I would be sooo rich by now.

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_**983 A.D.**_

"Do you think mother is alright?"

"Of course she is, Niklaus. She's done this before."

"And Ayana knows what she is doing."

A shriek echoed from deeper in the caves. It's seconds longer than the last one. The three boys wince as the sharpness of their mother's pain filled cries rush through the dimly lit cavern.

"Did it have to happen tonight? Could the runts not have come when we could have escaped into the woods?"

"Niklaus," Finn's stern tone caused his younger brother to sigh heavily and look down.

"Sorry, Finn. I just wish it was any other night than this one."

Elijah settled in next to him. "We all do, Niklaus, but we must make the best out of the situation." He ruffled Niklaus' dark blond curls. "Just think, we'll have a new brother and sister soon enough. You'll be able to teach them the best spots to catch fish in the river, and which trails the rabbits use most for when it's our little brother's first hunt. I bet you'll be able to put your new climbing skills to good use to mentor them into getting into the tallest of trees."

The four year old grinned at the thought. He prayed the rest of the full moon night for a brother he could teach to climb as well as he could, and a sister he could play hide and seek with. He wouldn't be the youngest anymore. He would have someone to tease, someone to look up to him, seeking acceptance as he had with Elijah and Finn. He wouldn't be the only one tossed into the river by his elder siblings. _He_ was going to be the elder sibling.

Finn and Elijah exchanged glances as their brother began humming happily. His innocence made the eldest son roll his eyes. He went back to his carving, his fingers and knife nimbly making small cuts and smoothing out splinters of his newest creation. Elijah shifted and threw his arm over Niklaus' shoulders, pulling him closer.

Another scream interrupted the quiet silence.

"Not long now."

**~K~N~**

Esther growled, disgruntled and aggravated. "It was never this difficult with the boys. What is wrong?"

Ayana looked up from below her, her bloodied hands checking the barely crowning head between Esther's thighs. "He's being stubborn. Just like his father."

A grunt sounded from nearby, said father pausing in his pacing just out of sight. "That means he'll be strong; a great hunter. A warrior."

Nothing was said in response other than a groan from the woman in labor.

The witch knelt closer and peered over swollen knees with a firm look. "Are you ready, Esther? This is it. I need only a few more pushes and he'll be out."

Esther gained a more stable position to push as she raised onto her elbows, her face tired and sweaty from exertion. The moment she caught her breath, her head nodded frantically. "Yes. Yes, I'm ready."

"Then push, Esther. Push!"

What seemed like hours later to the woman in pain, but in reality was only minutes, a loud piercing cry encroached on the damp cave. Mikael turned on his heel from the narrow cavern entrance but didn't move to approach any closer. The witch lifted the messy babe to lay upon Esther's heaving chest, quickly tying off the umbilical cord and cutting it with a knife. Esther, out of breath and tired, grew teary eyed as she got her first look at her son.

"Finally," she sighed, looking over at her husband.

Mikael nodded in approval. She noticed he almost seemed disinterested in the baby, not making any move to come closer. Esther suddenly cringed, no longer able to wonder about Mikael's distance, as the pain rolled over her once more.

"We've got one left, _Mor_, and then you will be done. Push again," Ayana ordered. "Now."

And so the blonde woman pushed. The level of difficulty at pushing the second baby out was nowhere near as hard as the first, and the girl slid out without any trouble. The moment the baby was out she breathed a sigh of relief. Her eyes were heavily lidded as she peered down at her son. Her ears strained, hoping to hear the following cry join in with the boys'. But there was no twin cry. The relief that had been etched into her face seconds before evaporated. She pushed herself up, her hands holding her son's naked body to her breast. Mikael crossed his arms, his fierce gaze fixed upon the dark woman hovering over his son's womb-mate.

Ayana was chanting under her breath, her fingers rubbing furiously against the child's chest, attempting to get her to take her first breath. Esther was speechless. Her chest ached at the thought of losing another child. Another girl. Her heart had been so desperately set on another daughter. Ayana's visions had told of two children, one of them a girl. But what if it had been a different birth? What if her _Sight_ had been wrong, and the girl came later in life?

The boy was still screaming, his tiny limbs flailing uselessly and his fists clenching. Esther hugged him closer and hid her face in the soft tuft of dark hair on his head.

That was when a soft gurgle hit the mostly soundless air. The boy settled into whimpers as his sister began to voice that of life. Her wail was quiet, and was calmed the instant she was set against her mother's skin, her side flush with that of her twin's. The tears Esther had been holding back freed themselves as she cradled her children to her.

From halfway across the room, Mikael's eyes shifted from one child to the next as he pulled in the forms of his progeny. "Kol... and Natalya."

Esther could only inhale deeply to calm herself and take in the feeling of being blessed that they had all survived.

**~K~N~**

Hours after the first wave of pain had come over her, Esther was settled on her hay filled bed pallet. Ayana had cleaned her up as she received the comfort of holding the twins to her breast, feeding them for the first time. When they were done, the witch helped her regain her modesty as she covered her up and swaddled the babies in furs.

Mikael had vanished an hour beforehand, his duty to seeing the birth through complete. He wanted out of the caves as soon as the sun broke the horizon. Esther was disappointed. He hadn't offered to hold either of the children. The indifference of his reactions towards his own flesh and blood bothered her. But there was nothing she could do. She couldn't argue and demand for him to love his children. She couldn't even force him to hold either of them. And making any notion of inquiring why he hadn't held them in the first place would only make him feel as if he were being interrogated. That would most definitely put him in a rage.

Relaxing her face from the imminent distress, Esther nodded as Ayana suggested she go and get the other children. By the time she had returned with the boys, the mother was dozing quietly, each arm wrapped around a newborn twin.

Scuffling footsteps amongst the cavern floor had her opening her eyes. Finn, Elijah and Niklaus stood over her, their curious eyes pointed at their newest siblings. Niklaus was the first to speak.

"They look like angry potatoes."

Although he didn't say anything aloud to offend his mother, Elijah couldn't help but agree.

Esther released a tired smile. "You once looked like an angry potato too some time ago, Niklaus. They will grow into their features, just as you did."

Niklaus scrunched his face at the thought of him looking like the squashed-faced tiny things in his mother's arms.

Finn's eyes flicked from one baby to the other. "What have you decided to name them?"

Esther straightened as best as she could. "Boys, meet Natalya and Kol." She shifted each arm to showcase which babe was which.

While Finn just hummed in response, Elijah and Niklaus leaned forward to get a closer look, their eyes wide.

Long after Niklaus grew bored with the babies as they did nothing exciting and wandered off to play a game with Finn, and Esther was once again dozing, Elijah stayed and watched the babies sleep. His curiosity couldn't be helped. When Niklaus had been born, he hadn't been much older than his little brother was now. Other than the toddlers that he occasionally saw around the village, Kol and Natalya were the first infants he'd gotten an up-close look at. His baby sister let out a short breath of air, the sigh almost unheard.

"Would you like to hold one?"

The boy jumped, his mother's soft voice startling him. "I thought you were asleep."

Esther smiled. "I never sleep, Elijah. I've got too many rambunctious children to watch out for. Now, would you like to hold one?"

The dark haired boy hesitantly nodded. He wasn't quite sure what else to say. His mother nudged the girl towards him, coaching him as he lifted the tiny being into his arms.

"Support her head with one han- there you go. Her neck isn't strong enough just yet to hold it up herself. Cradle the rest of her body with your arm. Just like that."

The girl shifted in her wrapping, his removing her from their mother's warmth disturbing her into almost waking. He could see her eyes moving beneath their lids, rapidly sliding back and forth. One of her hands found its way out of the furs and the tiny fingers stretched languidly.

Elijah glanced at his overseeing mother to make sure he was handling her correctly and raised a hand to stroke at the smooth skin of the baby's knuckles. All at once, her hand clamped around his finger with a strength he didn't realize a newborn could have. Natalya's eyes happened to open a sliver just then, and Elijah caught sight of dark irises. He sucked in a gasp as she looked up at him.

For what felt like forever she stared at him, and he back at her. Esther's eyes closed, the exhaustion from birth still lingering. Elijah sunk down next to his mother, his back leaning against the cold wall of the cave. He adjusted his grip on his sister, rocking her slightly, and her eyelids fluttered back down. He continued to rock her, his entire focus pinned on her. His finger was still in her grasp, and the pinky on the same hand ran over the soft skin of her bare arm.

He glanced at his new brother and saw the immediate resemblance of the two, their faces so similar he wasn't sure how he'd be able to tell them apart if his mother hadn't said something. Kol was sleeping soundly, his lips puckered and open slightly.

Elijah peeked up at his mother. Once he saw that she was asleep, her even breathing giving her away, he spoke to his newest siblings, believing their ears to be the only ones his words were spoken to.

"I'll protect you. No matter what happens throughout our lives, you'll always have me to turn to. Now and always."

Unknowingly, Esther was still awake, and her lips pulled into one last smile of the night.

* * *

**A/N** So, were Freya and Finn twins? Or were they just born a few years apart? I'm curious to know because in my story, they're twins no matter what. It's part of the storyline and it needs to stay.

I wanted to thank those of you who reviewed; You guys are amazing!

Next chapter is going to be the lead in to season three episode fourteen, Dangerous Liaisons.

And yes, we get to see Rebekah and Natalya together in over a century and how they react around each other. I think you'll enjoy it.

Don't forget to review!

Tweaks out.


	4. Surprise?

**A/N** This is what you get when you've had the past two days off from work. A new chapter!

Thanks to those of you who reviewed, it's very much appreciated.

Speaking of reviews, I happened to get a guest reviewer tell me that my story was very similar to **rocket-queen98**'s _My Other Half_, and that I should try to change some of the concepts and make it more original.

I just wanted to let you all know that until that review, I had never even read a chapter of that particular story. I've been reading in other fandoms since she posted and didn't even realize that someone was posting a story that mine was so similar to. I've already talked to her about it and she agreed with me that if I had posted my story first, would someone be thinking the same thing about hers?

_Unconventional Love_ is still in its beginning stages. You have to give it time to grow and become an actual story before claiming its too similar to someone else's. What about all of those self-insert fall's into _The Vampire Diaries_ stories out there. Most of them are all similar, but the author's have each got their own voices, putting their own spin into the storyline.

I've only read about five chapters into _My Other Half, _and while I love where she's headed with it, I don't plan on reading any more until my story has become its own. I don't want any of **rocket-queen98**'s writing to influence any of my own. Trust me when I say that none of that was intended at all. Like I told her, we were on the same wavelength of ideas and started surfing it to create our own story.

I've had this idea since January of 2014, but the motherboard on my laptop crashed. I lost all will to write after not being able to remember what I'd already had saved, and it took forever for me to stash the cash from each paycheck to get a new one. My brother installed it for me last month and I've just been writing since. My muse has come back and I want it to stay that way. So hearing that my story is- not really plagiarizing, but close to it? -is kind of disheartening. But I'm going to continue on. I'm in love with what I've come up with for later chapters and its going to stay that way.

All I'm saying, is just give it a chance.

Okay, rant's done. Please enjoy! And don't forget to review!

* * *

**_\- Present -_**

I woke the next morning as I had for most of the millennium I'd been alive. To Kol sleeping under me, his back to my chest, my cheek against his bare skin, and his arms encasing his pillow. We'd never slept normally. We'd go to bed wrapped in each others arms, but always woke with Kol sleeping on his stomach and me sprawled across his back. When we were younger, Niklaus used to tell us that we looked like a couple of wolves napping in an adorable little puppy pile. It's ironic now that I think about it. Because Niklaus was the wolf the whole time.

Kol was always watching over me in the waking hours. His observant eyes and protective aura surrounding me everywhere we went. But in the night, when he was no longer alert, my mind subconsciously needed to know that Kol was safe. My body would unfailingly end up across his, protecting him when he couldn't defend himself.

I knew he was more than capable of protecting himself, but that didn't matter. The desire to make sure he was okay had been ingrained into my mind since we were children. Just as it had been imbedded in his to inspect everything around us to perceive it as a danger or not to our well being.

My fingertips danced across the shoulder blade before my nose. They lightly skimmed over warm skin and jumped from freckle to freckle against olive toned flesh. My eyelids closed and I burrowed in closer, my lips brushing his spine.

"I love you," I whispered.

"...'til the end of time?"

A small smile grew upon my face. "And forever after that."

One of Kol's arms untangled from the pillow, and his hand lifted into my reach. He curled all of his fingers but his pinky, indicating for me to take it with my own. Once I did, he lowered my hand to his mouth, his lips pressing a kiss against the back.

"Do you promise?"

I gave a happy sigh. "Of course I do. Nothing but Niklaus' little daggers could keep me from loving you. Well, even then, that couldn't stop me. Not really. I would still love you in death... like I already am."

Kol laughed softly, shifting so he could turn over. As soon as he was on his back, I snuggled into his neck and nibbled at a visible vein. I could feel his head turn slightly, sucking in an irritated breath, and leaned back to see what was wrong. His eyes were scrutinizing the room we were in, and I glanced around to see what he saw.

The night before, after I'd eaten my fill of delicious single mother Maggie, Kol had swept me off my feet and started up the stairs. My full belly had sloshed as Niklaus gave directions to which bedroom would be ours. He more than likely knew that we wouldn't sleep in separate rooms. We never had separate beds even as infants, sharing the same cradle since birth. Despite Kol using his vampire speed to get us up to the second floor, I hadn't seen the room as I'd fallen half asleep before we'd even reached it. Kol had set me down on the bed, shed his shirt, and we were out moments later.

But now I had the time to actually take a gander at our accommodations.

We lay in a large king sized bed in the center of the back wall of the room. A few floor to ceiling windows spotted the wall to our left. A full length mirror sat nearest the door, and a walk in closet was just next to that. At the end of the bed sat an old cedar chest and beyond that lay an open archway that led to what looked like the conjoined bathroom. It was all porcelain, glass, and shiny counter tops. Everything in both rooms were different shades of creams, browns and whites.

"What's the problem?"

Kol shrugged, his dislike easily showing. "Couldn't Nik have given us a room with a bit more color?"

I eyed the cream duvet spread over the both of us. "Couldn't have hurt."

He sat up, nudging me over so I lay back on the bed instead of his body. He raised his arms and gestured widely. "I mean, a bit of red couldn't hurt."

Rolling my eyes, I shuffled over and lay down in the warmth of the sheets he'd left behind. My nose nuzzled into the bedding and my eyes shut sleepily. "Just eat someone in here and you'll have your splash of color."

"Darling, I think that's the most wonderful idea you've had all morning." I felt him throw back the blanket and leave the bed.

"It's the only idea I've had this morning," I mumbled into his pillow.

The sounds of him searching the closet filled my ears. He was making too much noise and my nose scrunched in discomfort.

"What do you think?"

I didn't bother opening my eyes to look, only murmuring, "I'm sure you look fine."

There were soft footsteps across the room and I knew he had to be preening in front of the mirror. He'd told me more than once that he loved me more than life itself. But I knew for certain that loving himself came at a close second. He wouldn't be Kol without his cocky disposition.

"Say, darling, I look fantastic. I wasn't expecting these clothes to be at all comfortable but the texture of this shirt is killer. Want to feel?"

"Sweetheart," I whined into the pillow. "I'm sure its very delightful, but I just want to slee-" My eyes fluttered open and my voice broke off. Lifting my head, it tilted to the side at the sight of Kol's backside as he turned back and forth in front of the mirror, examining the clothing that Niklaus had left for him. His eyes met mine in the mirror and he smirked.

"Never get rid of those trousers for as long as we live."

He waggled his eyebrows at me and I dropped my head down. This time with my eyes open to watch him as he moved about the room. He found a pair of brown boots in the back corner of the closet and sat down at the edge of the bed to put them on. Once the laces of both shoes were tied, he leaned down over me. One of his hands stabilized his body on the mattress beside my hip while the other cupped my cheek.

"Hungry?"

My stomach suddenly rumbled.

"Starving," I growled.

His thumb stroked my bottom lip. "I can tell. You're looking a bit pallid. Dinner didn't do enough for you, it seems. Any preference?"

"Maybe something sweet? Or doughy. You know what I like."

He grinned wickedly. "That I do. And when I get back, we need to have that talk that I promised last night."

I nodded, my mind still curious as to what Elijah and Niklaus had thought important for me to know the night before. But I trusted Kol's judgment. He would always have my best interest at heart.

"I'll go get some food."

He kissed me then, his lips meeting mine softly at first. The more the seconds past, the deeper the kiss became. His hand cradled the back of my neck and our heads tilted in unison. His lips parted first, and the satiny feel of his tongue sweeping against my own made me sigh into his mouth. But my hunger made itself known as my stomach growled. Kissing would have to wait.

Kol backed away and leered down at me. "I'll be back with breakfast before your stomach can eat itself."

With one last kiss upon the tip of my nose, my lips following after for one last meeting, he straightened and left the room.

I sagged backwards and pointed my toes into a stretch. From beyond the open door of the room, I could hear Kol as he snarked, "Be nice," before his footsteps dissipated.

Paying no attention, figuring it would be Niklaus he was speaking to, I kicked away the duvet and spread out on the bed. By the time I realized there was someone standing in the doorway, I had rubbed my ankles together enough that the old crusted blood on my skin had flaked off into the sheets.

Movement out of the corner of my eye was what made me notice Rebekah. She leaned against the open door, her cool gaze lingering over anything but me. I shifted on the bed, the sheets rustling loudly in the silence. Her gaze flashed my way and our eyes met. Nothing was said as I sat up and lowered my feet to the softly carpeted floor.

She didn't flinch as I was suddenly standing before her, my eyes scanning her scant wardrobe. It took only a second for my scowl to come back to hers.

"Fallen in love lately, little sister?" I asked patronizingly.

"Eaten any babies recently, big sister?" She retorted, her hip jutting out and her arms crossing.

I stared at her for a moment, taking her in. "Touché."

Rebekah smirked and leaned forward to kiss my cheek.

I accepted the kiss with a smile. "It's good to see you, 'Bekah. Although, is the recent fashion trend harlot? You're showing a lot of skin."

I could tell that my words rankled her as my sister glanced down at her clothing and her nostrils flared. "Times have changed." She watched me as I danced backwards to bounce back into bed, nestling into the comforter. "I see you've still got massacre on you. When was the last time you bathed?"

Chewing my lip in thought, I shrugged. "About a hundred or so years ago."

"Did no one think to offer you a shower last night?"

I waved her towards me and was glad when she stepped into the room and sat down on the bed beside me, crossing one leg over the other. "Our brothers are sometimes dunces, what did you expect? Where were you to offer your miraculous bathing skills?"

My sister proceeded to squirm uneasily. "Just taking care of some unfinished business."

I watched her pluck at the hem of the thin linen shirt she was wearing. "Uh-huh. Unfinished business. Did you manage to get it taken care of?"

Rebekah bit into her cheek and I could almost taste the blood that spilled from her harsh bite. I laughed.

"Don't you learn anything, baby sister?" I sneered at her. Before she could respond, I continued. "I'm assuming Elijah interrupted?"

She cleared her throat and wouldn't look at me.

"This is why you always go for the jugular first and save the monologue for when they're dead."

Rebekah shot a severe look at me. "I was _not_ monologing!"

"And this is also why you fail at life, 'Bekah."

She got up in a huff, storming out of the room. Her heels made a sound as sharp as her voice as she stalked away. It was a wonder I hadn't heard her close in on the bedroom in the first place. I rolled back out of bed, intending to check out the bathtub. Before I could take a step further, though, my sister was back in the doorway and glaring at me.

"Are you coming or not?"

I raised a brow in question.

"You need a bath, you idiot. And I've got clothes that Niklaus didn't pick out in my room."

Contemplating her half length trousers that exposed most of her legs, I sauntered past her into the hall. "Not sure it would be much of an improvement."

**~K~N~**

I could see her shooting glances at me as I picked through her closet after a quick bath, tossing unacceptable clothing items to the floor, uncaring it they wrinkled or not. After the fourth time she flat out started staring. I could feel the heat of her gaze against the side of my head.

Sighing, I lifted a dress and gave it a half flicked look of approval. I threw the fabric in her direction. "Just ask already, 'Bekah."

My sister caught the dress and smoothed it out over her knees. "How are you feeling?"

Her hidden meaning didn't get past me. I ignored it. "I'm doing great, considering I just woke from a century long sleep."

Aggravated, she picked up a hanger and chucked it at me. It missed by an inch as I casually turned to the left. "That's not what I was asking and you know it."

Holding an extremely see through shirt up to my toweled torso, I peered over at her. "Then ask better questions."

"Natalya."

I rubbed my dry lips together and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. Lowering the blouse, I trudged through the clothing amongst the floor and flopped down next to her. "Truth is, it's getting worse with each daggering. I didn't want to say anything, but its been getting harder to breath for the last five minutes."

She turned her whole body to give me her full attention. "Why haven't you said anything? Maybe Nik wouldn't ha-"

"When has Niklaus ever cared about anything other than himself? Or us being a _family_? He's so set on this idea of us all being together and yet he killed us every time we disagreed or challenged him on something we didn't like. There's no point, Rebekah. He won't listen.

My sister put her hand over mine. "Then we have to make him listen."

I chuckled darkly. "Good luck with that."

"Well," she stood and walked over to the closet. The moment was over for now. "Kol's getting you something to eat and you'll be feeling better in no time. For now, how about we find you something to wear. How about this?'

I truly didn't know much about fashion. Most anything that I'd worn in my life was either bought or made for me by compelled servants, Rebekah, or Kol. The dress my sister held up was definitely something I'd think of wearing. It was a thin black material with white flowers interspersed over the fabric. At the bottom and top of the dress, orange and red flowers mixed in with the white. It had a flowy movement to it as she lifted it higher. And it was long, at least reaching the bottoms of my shins with my height. There was only one problem. The straps were thin and my shoulders would be bare.

"Um, do you think we could," I paused and exaggerated shimmying my shoulders.

Rebekah looked towards the heavens in exasperation. "Yes, I will get you a sweater, you prude. I had a feeling you'd pick something like this. Figures you'd be into the whole Bohemian look."

"Not quite sure what that means, but I'll take it."

"Now, change into this while I get you something to cover those bony shoulders of yours."

I hesitated and she saw it.

The only people who'd seen me undressed in the last two centuries were either dead or my twin. I wasn't sure if I wanted Rebekah to see what living like I have since we were human was doing to my body.

She shook her head incredulously. "We're all girls here. Nothing I haven't seen before. Get dressed."

It was only after she'd turned her attention to searching through the mountain of clothes I'd tossed to the floor that I dropped the towel I'd been wearing for the past fifteen minutes. The underthings she'd given me were a little loose, but nothing that would fall off easily. I hurried over to where she'd hung the dress on the closet door and rushed to put it on.

Her gasp is what made me freeze. "...Natalya, why haven't you said anything?"

I slowly spun around, the dress clenched in my fists, covering the front of my body. Her horrified gaze met my embarrassed one. "Because it's no big dea-"

She blurred forward and took my hands from the dress to clutch onto them. "N-not a big deal? The last time I saw you nude you were healthy looking. Natalya, I can count every single one of your ribs! How did I not notice you were so thin?"

"I just need to eat. As soon as Kol gets back with breakfast I'll be right as rain."

"Is this why you and Kol were always gone for so long over the years?"

I nodded. "We've been trying to find a witch that could fix this. No luck yet, obviously... can I get dressed now?'

She helped me slide the thin dress over my head, pulling my long hair out the back for me after it was in place. She reached down and picked up a white quarter length sleeved sweater from the floor and held it out for me to put my arms through the holes. She took a step back and gave me a once over.

I spoke the words for her. "It's as good as it's going to get. It's a little loose, but I have a feeling everything in your closet will be until I can get some more blood in me on a regular basis."

She dipped her head down into a nod. I could tell her thoughts were still on what she'd seen. One of her hands stretched out to twirl a lock of my hair. "There's a compelled human downstairs to cut your hair for you, if you want. Finn has already had her take off that mop of his into a more modern hairstyle."

I fingered the long brown hair over my shoulder. "I love my hair."

"I know you do. But maybe it's time for a change. You've had that length for over four hundred years. Besides, last I saw, mother was getting most of hers chopped off-"

I stopped dead, everything else she might have said was left unheard. I quickly interrupted her, "D-did you just say _mother_?"

Rebekah froze, her eyes transfixed on my lifeless face. "Has no one told you yet?"

_"I figured her wrath would have been well served elsewhere. Considering how upset she is with me, you haven't told her yet, have you?"_

_ "She needs to know, Kol. She needs to be prepared for when she sees moth-"_

Both Niklaus and Elijah had tried to tell me last night. How long had they known? How long had she been here? Had she been under this roof the whole time, right under my nose, within walking distance?

_"What she needs is to eat, and to rest. We can tell her tomorrow after she's recuperated."_

Kol knew. And he'd stopped them from telling me.

My lungs seized up. It was suddenly very, _very_ difficult to breathe. The talk we were supposed to have this morning. This was what it was about. This was why he needed me to eat and keep my strength up. So that when he told me, something like this wouldn't happen.

"Natalya, I'm so sorry. I didn't know they hadn't told you yet. Guess I spoiled the surprise."

A hand raised to my throat and clawed at my neck. The room felt smaller, and my clothes felt constricting. I needed to sit down. I couldn't breathe. _I couldn't breathe._

Sinking to the floor, Rebekah lowered with me down onto her knees and her eyes widened. "You're turning purple. Why are you turning purple?"

_Because I couldn't breathe. Because _she_ was alive_.

My sister was useless. She knew nothing and was utterly useless. After all this time, she'd never figured it out. Never had any theories to my illness and what caused it. She was so loyal to _her_.

Her hands extended, to do what I don't know. I smacked them away from me and in the next second she was being propelled across the room and Kol was kneeling before me.

"Talya, breathe. Try and take a deep breath with me," he advised. Grabbing one of my hands, he put it against his chest.

I could feel the rapid beating of his heart against the palm of my hand. Mine must have been even more wild at that moment. His chest expanded as he inhaled, but I couldn't make my own do the same. My eyes clenched shut and my face screwed up in terror. The hand not holding my own lifted to the side of my head, his fingers threading painfully into my hair.

"Look at me." I finally opened my eyes, his grim expression not faltering. I knew what was coming. "Are you ready for this, darling? This is going to hurt."

I nodded frantically.

Before Rebekah could protest what my brother was about to do, he'd already lifted the arm in his grasp and bit down hard. Blood spilled between his lips and his eyes bore into mine comfortingly.

"What in the-"

The pain brought me back, causing me to take in a long sputtering breath. Another. And another. It took a full minute for me to get my breathing back to normal. While my chest heaved, Kol had released my arm and cleaned up the mess with his tongue. He pulled me close, my nose meeting the fabric of his shirt and nuzzling in. It really was soft.

"What in the bloody hell just happened?"

Kol got to his feet, taking me with him. He wrapped me up in his arms and turned to our sister. Irritated, he answered in a clipped tone with, "Panic attack."

She raised her hands, about to go ballistic. "Since when does she get panic attacks?!"

Kol ignored her and instead angrily asked, "Did you by chance tell her about mother?"

"It-it was an a-accident," Rebekah stuttered. "Why should that matter? We've got our mother back. We should all be happy. It's like she said last night, we can be a fami-"

"Because, sister," Kol cut her off before she could speak any more nonsense. I could feel the familiar Mikaelson temper begin to rise up. "Mother is the reason Talya is the way she is. Mother is the reason why our sister is sick."

Rebekah's jaw dropped, dumbstruck. "N-no. She couldn't. Why would she-"

"Keep your denial's and foolish explanations to yourself." Kol's displeasure for our sister at the moment made itself clearly known. "Come, darling, let's get some blood in you before you wither away. You need to keep your strength up."

Kol turned me around and led me out Rebekah's bedroom. Looking over my shoulder one last time, I glimpsed my sister slumping down onto her bed. The expression on her face was that of disbelief.

"What do you think of Italian?"

Turning back to Kol, I tiredly smiled. "I love pasta."

He rubbed his hand down over my arm. "Good, because that's what this one tastes like."


	5. Lessons

**A/N **Apologies for the long delay. We've been shorthanded at work (one employee had pneumonia, another went in for surgery, and two quit) so every minute that I wasn't working was spent _enjoying_ the time that I wasn't working. And by that I mean sleeping. _But_ I've got a couple days in a row off at the end of this week so I'm anticipating putting out the next chapter by Sunday! Just be prepared in case that doesn't happen, but I'm hoping it will.

Many thanks to **Savily**,** DorkySoul**, and the **Guest** for your reviews. And thanks to everyone that favorited and followed. You're all awesome!

Now onto the I don't have a Beta and I don't own anything other than Natalya **Disclaimer **spiel... I don't have a Beta and I don't own anything other than Natalya. There ya go.

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_**990 A.D.**_

"Tell me, what is it we must not do?"

Natalya swayed in her seat. One of her dainty hands clung to the back of her twin's tunic, plucking at it. Kol sat straight, his posture perfect. His drooping eyes gave away his boredom.

"Children, tell me now."

The sharp tone of their mother's voice jolted them back into awareness. Kol pushed his shoulders back, his knee bouncing up and down in a rapid movement. His sister sunk into his side, her cheek close to his shoulder as she hid her face from her mother behind dark curls.

"To not disturb the balance of nature," they spoke simultaneously, Natalya's wobbly mumbled words echoing somewhat behind her brother's.

"And to perform a spell?"

"One must give for one to take."

Esther beamed across the table at them, her eyes lingering on her daughter's sagging shoulders. "Very good. Now, think back to our lesson the morn before last. What was the spell I taught you used for? Kol?"

Her boy sighed heavily and yet effortlessly replied, "A spell to enhance the growth of a plant. Of nature itself."

She accepted the explanation with an incline of her head and then turned to look at her daughter. "And do you remember the words, Natalya?"

The girl nervously jerked her head up to peer at Esther. Her hand clenched tighter into the back of Kol's tunic, fingers twisting the already wrinkled wool. She opened her mouth to speak, but her bottom jaw clamped shut, her teeth connecting with a quiet _click_. It was only after her third try that she caught the courage to speak.

"_Ph-phasmatos tribum n-nas ex viras_?"

Esther closed her eyes to calm herself before she could grow frustrated with the girl. Whereas Kol would recall every word she spoke to the point of reciting each spell she demonstrated perfectly, Natalya would consistently fail to remember the most important things she taught. She mixed up enchantments, brewed the cure all wrong due to adding the wrong ingredients, and she couldn't tell the difference between specific herbs to save her life. Kol showed promise with the craft, Natalya never would.

The blonde witch knew she wasn't at fault. She'd known there was something most definitely wrong with the girl not even half into her first year of life. From the moment she's slipped into this world, her health was never at its best. Her daughter was unwell.

"No, sweetling. Try again."

Natalya sniffled, her eyes watering and down-turned, ashamed that she was disappointing her mother once again for the third time that morning. "_Phasmatos t-tribum_-"

"Mother," Kol intervened, his fingers fiddling with a sprig of mint on the table before him. "Can we go and play now? Nik promised to help us catch frogs today."

Esther eyed the twins as she pondered Kol's interruption. The eldest of the two had shifted closer to his sibling, his bouncing leg rubbing against the girl's. Leaning forward, his torso edged in front of hers without his notice. But Esther noticed. She took note to when his instincts kicked in and the urge to defend his sister became all that he was. It was a frequent occurrence to how often that happened.

Natalya had hunched into herself, her shoulders curling in and her face turning back towards that of her brother. From what Esther could see beyond the dark strands of her hair, Natalya's cheeks were drawn and her skin ashen. It made the dark circles beneath her eyes stand out that much more. Although today was one of her better days, she seemed more tired than usual.

After a few moments of contemplating the two, she jut her chin in the direction of the door in approval. "You may go."

Kol jumped to his feet, his hip bumping into the table in his haste. A small number of the vials filled with off color liquids were knocked over in his hurry. His hands rose to steady Natalya as she shakily rose beside him. The hand not clutching at her brother reached out and righted the glass vials, cleaning up his mess where he would most likely not.

"For the love of our ancestor's, don't wake your sister on your way out. She hasn't been sleeping well. If you wake her you'll be at the mercy of your father when he gets back from his hunt with Finn and Elijah."

Kol didn't make any notion that he'd heard his mother, but Natalya glanced in the direction of where her tow-headed baby sister napped.

"The second she feels faint, Kol, you come home. Do you understand?"

Her youngest son acknowledged her this time, his eyes searching the sunshine coming in from the windows. He softly nudged his twin towards where the light was leaking around the edges of the door.

When they were gone, with Kol excitedly calling out for Niklaus and Natalya silently shutting the door behind them, Esther stood to walk to the window. She pulled aside the leather covering and watched as Kol grasped his twin's fingers in his and gently tugged her along past the working villagers and to the trees. She watched as he eventually tucked her in close to his side, his arm around her shoulders as they walked out of sight.

She glanced over to make sure Rebekah hadn't woken from the sound of Kol's yells. Fortunately, the child had slept through her siblings' lesson and Kol's enthusiastic shouting. Seeing her infant daughter sleeping soundlessly, she turned back to the window just in time to see a figure dressed in dark fabrics making their way towards her home. Esther let the leather fall back into place and mindlessly looked about the room.

When she was pregnant with the twins she'd asked Ayana to tell her of their future. To voice that they would be strong and capable of living in this new world. Her friend had complied. She'd told of good tidings coming her family's way. She'd revealed more than one child resting in her belly.

What Ayana hadn't spoke of was that of her daughter's ailment. That Natalya would sometimes fall ill to the point of Esther fearing for her life. That she would be so weak she wouldn't be able to leave her bed after days of her improving health would wither in a heartbeat, tiring easily and needing much more rest than that of her brothers. That Natalya would be so queasy that she wouldn't eat for days, her thin frame becoming more fragile as meals sat before her untouched. Her breathing resembled that of Luella, the old crone who lived four homesteads down, after only being on this earth for seven summers.

Could Ayana have lied to her about the family's good tidings?

Her musing was interrupted by a quiet knock at the door. Sneaking a look at Rebekah one more time, she strode across the room to open the door. If it had been anyone but Ayana, she would have courteously asked what they needed. But it wasn't anyone other than Ayana. Esther should have known the dark clothed figure would come to her door. With her thoughts on the other witch's motives, it was no surprise that her mentor was standing before her.

"I know you're upset with me. It's been building for months now, and I feel that it has hit its peak."

Esther said nothing, leaving the door open for her friend and returning to the table. She began to put away the herbs that she had spread out over the worn tabletop for the children's lesson. She continued in her silence as she closed her Grimoire and wrapped it in cured leathers to protect it from the elements.

Ayana stepped inside and closed the door behind her. Her footsteps to the table were soft, but the creaking of the bench that Esther had previously been seated upon was deafening in the quiet as she lowered herself onto it.

"I know you have questions, my friend."

Esther sat opposite the witch and pushed aside what was left between them to the end of the table. "You already know what I wish to ask. Tell me."

Ayana took a moment to gather her thoughts into how she was to explain what she could. "...Natalya is ill."

The blonde held back a scoff. That was something she already knew. Her fingers brushed away a few dried flakes of lavender, easily crushing them into smaller pieces.

"Someday, it will be the end of her."

That made Esther pause, her gaze hardening on the other woman. "When?"

The dark skinned witch shook her head. "What I can tell you is that the pain will be the worst she will ever go through." Unknowingly, her hand raised and rubbed at her chest. "That's not in the near future. She will live a few more years yet."

Esther folded her hands before her. "Why didn't you tell me what would become of her when I first asked?"

Ayana jutted her finger into the tabletop. "Is that really what you wanted to hear when asking for the knowledge that your children would be strong enough to survive? That your daughter might not make it to having a family of her own? Natalya is strong. She's shown that strength since the day she was born and I brought life back into her."

"Is there anything we can do to change what you've _Seen_?"

Ayana shook her head. "I have gone through every remedy in my spell book to find something to correct her health. Esther, what I have _Seen_ is what will come. There is nothing I can do."

"No," Esther denied. "You are always telling me that nothing is set in stone. Nothing. Our decisions change our future. There has to be something we haven't tried."

Ayana regarded one of her oldest friends pleading with her. Esther was a determined woman, but the witch knew there was nothing that could be done for the eldest of Esther's daughters. If the mother knew what she had _Seen _when she'd put her hand upon her belly would she give up? Would her hope be lost in the abyss? Ayana wondered if she would stop looking for a spell that would heal her flesh and blood if she knew what was to come. She had to give the mother something to hold onto. Esther needed to keep that hope alive for as long as she could, because she was going to need it if her visions were anything to go by.

"There is one spell we haven't made an attempt at just yet. But I won't even begin to consider it until she is older and weighs more than her sister over there," Ayana gestured to where Rebekah was still fast asleep in her cradle. "Her body is much too young to live through the process of what I have in mind."

Esther made to speak and Ayana cut her off. "We must wait. Try to get her to eat more, she'll be ready in due time."

The blonde sighed, content that the other woman was going to try, even if it was one last time, and even if this spell failed. Ayana made to get to her feet and Esther put a hand out to stay her. "Just, one more thing."

The witch slowly nodded, readjusting herself back onto the bench. She already had a feeling as to what Esther wanted to ask.

"Natalya and Kol. There is something..."

"_Off_ about their relationship?"

Esther looked relived that Ayana knew of what she spoke. "You've seen it? You've seen the way they react to each other? Especially Kol. He's taken to not leaving her side when he can help it."

Ayana's expression tightened. Clasping her hands over Esther's she chose her words wisely. "Put a stop to it before it becomes more. Esther, if you don't, what occurs in the future may just be the death of the both of them."

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**A/N **Got a question for you all. Does it seem like I put a ton of dialogue in? Cause it feels like most of the story so far is all just a bunch of talking and not enough detail. I don't know, leave me a review and let me know.


	6. Talks with Mother

_**\- Present -**_

Sitting on the couch beside my sister, I sipped at the warmed mug of dark liquid between the palms of my hands. My legs were tucked beneath me and the warmth of my sister's body heat comforted me as I leaned against her. She must have taken my teasing to heart because she was now dressed in tight trousers that clung to her legs. Not much better than the 'shorts' she'd been originally wearing but it definitely covered more skin.

Rebekah was getting her nails polished, her long legs stretched out and her feet lounging up on the low table in front of us. After my meal over an hour ago she had pulled me through the halls and downstairs. All the while she had griped about not having enough time to find an appropriate dress and yet knowing that she would find one with time to spare.

Apparently, our mother was hosting a ball this evening and we needed to prepare for it. So, still dabbing at my mouth with a handkerchief, I'd allowed Rebekah to drag me down to where Elijah was buttoning his shirt and Finn was being fitted with a waistcoat. Kol had drifted behind us, humming under his breath and tugging on the ends of my hair as he strolled along at my back.

This whole ball thing was suspicious. I had a feeling that nobody else even wondered at why this formal dance was being thrown. I knew my mother had to have ulterior motives. She wanted us to be a family, but why not do a dinner with just us? Why throw a ball the first day we'd been awake instead of getting us together and trying to fix what she'd broken? To me, none of it was believable.

Wiggling my toes, I pushed thoughts of Esther's suspicious actions to the back of my mind and focused on the room. Now it was Kol standing before the mirror, a man working on taking in the jacket of his formal suit. He was taking measurements and pinning certain folds here and there. My twin was adjusting the sleeves and smoothing down the lapels. He continued to check on me through the reflection of the mirror and every time his eyes met mine I would subtly nod. An indication that I was all right.

Of course I was. I had Elijah standing beside me, his focus primarily on inspecting his dress shoes and shining them to perfection. Every so often I would feel his eyes on me for a moment before wiping the shoe shine off of his patten leather shoes. I had Rebekah sat next to me, occasionally patting me on the knee with a newly manicured left hand. I didn't know what her thoughts were on what Kol had revealed in her bedroom, but when her hand made contact with my leg, it lingered a few seconds more than a casual pat normally would. Niklaus was nowhere to be found. He must have been off torturing some poor soul. That or he was eating them. Either way, they were probably dead. Annoyance passed through me that he hadn't thought to invite Kol or I along to enjoy in his activities with him. But who was I to know he wasn't just fucking some girl up against a wall somewhere. Then again, my twin and I still would have wanted to have been invited. Sibling bonding and all that.

My unwavering gaze shot past the eldest Mikaelson child to the open doors of the study in the adjacent room. And I had Finn. He stood in front of those open doors getting his pant legs hemmed, his waistcoat having been cast aside to finish later. The first line of defense if I were to do anything drastic. He'd intentionally stationed himself there when he'd first looked up and saw Kol and I trailing along behind our sister. He was across the room from where he'd originally been standing.

He knew just as well as I that I wouldn't do anything to her.

Just like I was hoping that she wouldn't do anything to me.

I felt protected with my siblings surrounding me, even Finn. Because our mother was in the next room. I couldn't see her, but I could feel her presence. I could hear papers rustling and knew she was finishing up the last few invitations that had been shuffled out in small stacks for the last hour. I'd tried to get a peek at them but couldn't read the words on any of the envelopes as the compelled humans holding them strode past.

She hadn't asked to see me yet even though she had to be aware of my existence just a dozen feet away. I was satisfied with never having to lay eyes upon her until it was absolutely necessary.

Finally, the tailor snipped the last stray string on Kol's tuxedo and straightened before beginning to put away his tools of the trade. My twin buttoned the jacket and pushed his shoulders back to puff out his chest.

"Rebekah, tell me how handsome I am," he spoke over his shoulder, his gaze never leaving the image of himself in the full length mirror.

Our sister waved off the woman who had just finished with the nails on her right hand and was examining them. "Oh, Kol, you know I can't be compelled."

His eyes squinted through the mirror at her and she pursed her lips into a smirk. I exchanged an amused glance with Elijah.

Lifting the mug and taking a sip, I quickly licked away the redness from my lips. "I don't know what her problem is, sweetheart, but I think you look devilishly handsome."

Kol gave me a genuine smile while Rebekah scoffed. She mumbled something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like, '_Course you would.' _Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Finn's upper lip curl somewhat in disgust. I tried not to think about what was wrong with complimenting a member of your family, but knew that he had taken it the wrong way. Which was actually what I'd intended. Nobody but he and my twin knew that, though.

It was at that moment that Niklaus stormed into the room, the door he'd appeared from striking the wall with a loud thud. My siblings each gave him a fleeting glance before ignoring his entrance for the most part. I proceeded to watch on in curiosity. His hardened glare was directed at Rebekah and I shifted slightly to the left away from her. The icy gaze was always something that I'd admired about my older brother. He could make you uncomfortable at the drop of a hat. But, I guess, anyone in our family could do that if irritated long enough.

"You went after Elena!"

My gaze flickered between the two. Who was this Elena? Girlfriend? Lover? Obviously someone important enough for Niklaus to be this angry. Definitely not a girl he'd fucked against a wall. He knew her name.

"What is wrong with you?" He asked, stalking forward to stand in front of her.

Rebekah smiled at his approach and retorted, "Here we go."

"Do you want another dagger in your heart?" He challenged.

I had to hold back a laugh. Really? Threat by dagger? Did he not realize by now that a dagger to the heart was such a feeble threat? We'd been stabbed by them enough times that the thought of it no longer bothered us. Maybe he should look somewhere for far more better inspiration. I could always suggest dismemberment. Much more fascinating and painful. When Niklaus had last daggered Kol and I, torture was frowned upon and _illegal_, but I wonder if it's made a comeback yet. If so, I had a few personal favorites. Back in 1453 my twin and I carried out one such tribulation that still brought a smile to my face to this day in the memory of the literal blood bath.

Kol seemed to be having the same thought as me. His eyes shifted to look at me with a smirk as he sat down on the arm of the chair beside the full length mirror. He cut in with, "Again with the dagger threats."

Niklaus' jaw clenched and his lips pursed as my twin continued.

"Don't you have any other tricks?"

Niklaus half turned to look at him in agitation. "Oh, go back to staring at yourself."

I'd hoped that Kol would keep his mouth shut. We were all getting along so well before our brother had barged in. There hadn't been any confrontations and the peace had been kept. I'd been praying that it would stay that way so that a certain someone wouldn't emerge from the study. I wanted to hold off our reunion as long as possible. Seeing as none of my family had mentioned it to me, I believed they all wanted the same. Especially Finn. He definitely didn't want me anywhere near his precious mother.

"And who are you, my father?"

Tapping my mug with a finger, I opened my mouth to say something to keep Kol from antagonizing our brother even more. Looking to Elijah and Finn, they were both watching with interest, but looked as if they weren't going to do anything about the oncoming fist fight. No one else was saying anything, and if no one else was going to interfere, than why should I? My eyes went back and forth between the two and I took another sip of my blood laden liquor. Rebekah relaxed back into the couch cushion next to me now that Niklaus' focus was no longer on her. She observed the view just as I was, but with a smile on her face.

"No, Kol, but you're in my house," Niklaus turned around fully and took a few steps towards Kol.

My twin stood, coming toe to toe with our brother and replied, "Then perhaps we should go outside."

I wanted to intervene, but Kol could handle himself. I'd watched him goad himself into many a fight over the years and he'd won most of them. And of those that he didn't win, well, the victor didn't live long in this world. If it came to an all out brawl, I could at least cheer the favorite of my brothers on from the sidelines. That or shove a makeshift table leg stake in someone's heart.

Movement from beyond their lean frames caught my attention and my breath hitched. A woman walked around the corner, revealing herself to me for the first time in over a thousand years. Even with the new clothes and shortened hair, my mother looked every bit as beautiful as she had when I was a young girl.

"Enough!"

She came to the middle of the doorway and stopped, her authority radiating throughout the room from where she stood. I froze, trying not to make any sudden movements that would make her look over to where I sat with the mug halfway to my lips.

"Niklaus," she paused for a moment. I blinked, biting at my bottom lip at the way she said his name. I'd forgotten that when she said his name that she said it so scolding, familiar, and lovingly at the same time. She never once spoke any of our names like she did with his. Ni_-klaus_. The second I saw her hazel eyes flicker in my direction I diverted my gaze to my lap. "Come."

As she turned away, Niklaus expelled a heavy sigh and shouldered past Kol. My twin's lips quirked up on one side as he spun to watch him go. "Maybe I will go back to staring at myself. I have been told that I'm devilishly handsome."

Just before my elder brother disappeared from my sight, his back stiffened as Kol had the last word. My twin swiveled around and waggled his eyebrows at me in victory. He noted the paralysis of my limbs with a gesture to the mug. I quickly lifted it the rest of the way and took a large gulp, finishing off the contents. Even though I could hear Niklaus and Esther's exchanging of words, I tried to ignore everything they said and turned my eyes to the one Mikaelson who had been without a dagger in their chest the longest. Elijah.

I needed to distract myself from thinking of that hazel eyed glance. With breakfast and a light snack in my belly I could breath easy and was nowhere close to a panic attack but I didn't want to risk it.

Reaching out, I tugged on Elijah's sleeve. He put down the shoe he'd been polishing and gave me his full attention.

"Who is Elena?" I asked. I sat forward and set the empty mug down on the table by Rebekah's feet. Kol rounded the back of the couch and sat down on the edge behind me as I leaned against him. The side of my head settled against his waist and my arm came up to rest on his knee as I twisted to face Elijah more.

"Yes, tell us who _Elena_ is."

Rebekah was the first to respond. She leaned forward and switched from sitting on the couch to the table her feet had been resting on. She slid the coffee mug over and crossed one leg over the other. "She's the doppelganger bitch Nik's been keeping alive because her blood is what's making his hybrids."

I'm sure the whole room could feel the astonishment coming off Kol and I. Looking to Finn, I could see the disinterest in our sister's words. Had our mother somehow been watching from the Other Side and known that Niklaus was now capable of making his own hybrids and then told her loving son all about it when she came back?

"So, he's no longer cursed?" I questioned. I glanced past my sister to the open doors where Niklaus was still conversing with Esther.

"No."

"How is thi- nevermind. Doppelganger. Right."

Kol shifted and his right hand ran down and then up my back before picking at the cotton of the white sweater I was wearing. His fingers found the one drop of blood that I'd gotten on me from breakfast over my clavicle and circled it a few times.

"Anything else we should know?"

After a moment of hesitation and knowing looks between our sister and brother – Finn was still silent, but the tailor had finished with his pants and so the Mikaelson had moved over to lean against the wall closest to the study doors – it was Elijah who answered. "Mikael is dead."

Both Kol and I stared at him with eyebrows raised. I watched for any kind of tell that this was a lie. His jaw muscle didn't clench, he didn't scratch at his neck, and his hands were in his pockets so I couldn't tell if they were fidgeting . Seeing the stern, serious look on his face, I turned my head to see the same look on Rebekah's face. Though, her features were much more telling. The way her eyebrows were set and her head was tilted indicated relief that she probably didn't know she was broadcasting.

As one, Kol and I laughed in disbelief. Tension that I didn't realize had been coiled in my muscles for centuries – just waiting for our father to descend upon us at any second – was released and I felt a sense of peace brush over me. Kol swung his legs over the back of the couch and slid down onto the cushion beside me, his arm now across my shoulders and my left hand trailing over his thigh.

"You're joking, right? Mikael's still out there, still at large, ready to slaughter us all when he next finds us," Kol broke the silence, pulling me closer. My other hand rose to link our fingers together.

Elijah moistened his lips and began to smile. "Niklaus has told me that he killed him himself."

"And you believe him?"

Rebekah jabbed her thumb out behind her. "With him, about this? Yes."

Mikael had been hunting us down for over a thousand years. And while we were always two steps ahead, there had been a couple close calls that I still couldn't understand how we escaped to live to see this day. To listen to these two tell us that our father was gone for good... It was almost too good to be true.

"You really should have lead with that," Kol exclaimed happily. "We would have congratulated Nik much sooner."

"Hmm," I sighed in contentment. "Might even have to bake him a cake."

Elijah and Rebekah smiled and I found myself having trouble keeping one off my face. No longer would we have to worry about looking over our shoulders, wondering if our father was just behind us, ready to put us down into a final death. No longer would we have to go into hiding after a massacre that occurred every few years, scared that we had drawn his attention. No longer would we have to flee to keep the threat of dying behind us. We could go wherever we wanted. We could do whatever we wanted. We were finally free.

"Well," Rebekah stood and straightened her clothing. "I've got one last invitation to give out. I'll see you all later. Talya, I've got a dress for you up in my room. Don't worry, it covers more than anything else in my closet."

Before Kol could even ask who the invitation was for, she was gone. Elijah stepped around the table and sat down where Rebekah had planted herself on the tabletop moments before.

"Is he really gone?" I asked quietly. My eyes peered over his shoulder to see Finn still in the corner, watching us with pensive eyes.

My closest brother aside from Kol leaned forward and took the hand not intertwined with my twin's. "Yes, he's truly gone."

I grinned and snuggled more deeply into Kol's side. Mikael was dead. I felt as if nothing could keep my happiness from fading.

"Natalya."

Except for that. I tensed, my eyes not leaving Elijah as he turned his head to look at the woman once again standing in the study doorway. Kol's fingers tightened around mine. We never even noticed her and Niklaus finishing their conversation. I couldn't sense my brother anywhere, so he must have run off somewhere to finish preparations.

"Come here."

I slowly got to my feet, trying to draw this out for as long as I could. Kol got up beside me, his hand still in mine. I didn't want to let go. Elijah turned back to stare up at me as I stood over him.

"Just your sister, Kol. Why don't you go help finish putting up the lights." It wasn't a request. It was an order.

Without waiting for an answer, she disappeared back into the office. There was no fighting her. Elijah and Kol held eye contact for a moment, and I could feel an unspoken conversation take place. When they were done, Kol gave me a comforting kiss to the side of the head and released my hand before exiting the room. Watching him go, he looked over his shoulder one last time before leaving my sight.

Standing, Elijah took my hand once more and gave it a comforting squeeze. He leaned in to give me a hug and I wrapped my arms around him tightly. Too tightly, it seems, because he whispered into my ear, "It'll be all right. Call for me if you need me... Watch her."

I immediately knew what he asked of me. He must have been having the same thoughts I'd had about Esther's motives. He wanted my input on the situation. He wanted me to watch for any indication that she was lying.

A small whimper escaped me as he pulled back and stepped aside for me to pass. I cautiously moved towards the office, extremely aware that Finn had stepped away from the wall and was now lingering beside the open doors. His hawk-like eyes scrutinized my every move while I passed him.

Entering the room, my mother stood before the piano across the room. Her head dipped when the soft sound of my bare footsteps tapped on the wooden floor.

"Finn."

There was a shifting of cloth behind me and I spun to see Finn closing the doors behind me. Elijah's worried features and Finn's glare was the last thing I saw before they fully closed. I'm sure the last thing they saw was the horrified look on my face. They were leaving me alone with her. A second whimper got caught in my throat as I tried to stifle it. I could feel myself shaking as I stared at the doors. My mother's heels clicked against the floor and I knew she'd turned around.

"Natalya... my daughter, I know you're upset with me. After what happened all of those years ago, I know that what you're feeling is my fault. I know what Ayana and I did to you wasn't right. But I had to try to make you better."

I slowly spun on my heel to see the forlorn look on her face. She looked so guilty and apologetic. It was sickening.

"I know now, in the end it only made your illness worse. And I'm sorry for that."

She reached a hand out as if to brush back the strand of hair that had fallen forward into my face. I jerked back and she sighed, putting her hand back down against the skirt of her dress. She smoothed down the fabric and then clasped her hands together.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Natalya. Things are going to change, we're all going to be a family again. I'm going to take care of you all. Please don't make this any harder than it already is."

I let out a chuckle of disbelief. "You want me to not make this any harder than it already is? Mother, I was the one who had that spell put on me for who knows how long. I was the one who almost bled to death in your so called ritual. Ayana wanted to stop, but you continued. You almost killed me, and you want me to ignore everything that happened?" Pausing, I paid close attention to her soft breathing, making note of the slight irregularity that no one else would have ever noticed if they hadn't been looking closely enough. "You've been on the Other Side for over a thousand years. If you've been watching over us at all, than you should already know that what you did to me had lasting effects. I was already sick, and even though I couldn't bare the thought of leav-," I had to swallow down the lump in my throat at the next words to come out of my mouth before continuing. "Leaving Kol on his own, I knew I was going to die soon. I was prepared. But what you did, you only prolonged my death and made it so much worse after turning us. I can't go an hour without the feeling of starvation beginning to cramp in my stomach. And don't even get me started on my breathing... It hurt when I was a child, but it-it kills now."

My mother stared up at me before closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath. My outburst almost made me miss it. Almost. There was a miniscule shifting of her weight on her feet and a twitch of her pinkie finger as she raised her hand to rub along her forehead. She held her irritation at bay, but I could see the muscle spasm that would always go off when one of her children didn't listen. It was a sign that something we'd done had upset her. It was something Elijah would have wanted me to watch out for.

"You did something to me that's irreparable. All of those people who died in the first months of us turning - especially the ones that suffered because I was so _hungry_ \- that's on you."

When Esther next stepped forward, I held still. Her hands cupped each of my cheeks and her eyes gazed into mine, searching for something I wasn't going to give her. "I am going to fix this. I am going to fix _this_."

My fingers circled her wrists and pulled her hands away from my face. Scanning her features, I knew that she truly wanted to fix the damage that she had caused. But I also knew better.

"I'll believe it when I see it."

I turned and opened the doors, leaving my mother to contemplate all that had been said. Both Finn and Elijah were now facing each other on opposite sides of the room, watching the other carefully. When the sound of the doors opening echoed through the room, they both turned to see me nervously looking between the two before hurrying away from our mother as fast as I could.

Within a second, Elijah was beside me outside of the room. Walking with him down the hall, I turned my head towards him and made to speak. He quickly put a finger to his lips and then gestured to his ear.

Glancing over my shoulder, I leaned close and whispered into his ear, "She's planning something."

Elijah put his hand against my lower back and led me through a side door to the courtyard outside. The sun was beginning its descent in the sky, peeking through the trees and shading the area. There were workers everywhere finishing up the lawn care and clipping the hedges. I spotted Kol standing off to the side supervising a group who were hanging twinkling lights around the archways. He looked back at us and made to walk over, but Elijah shook his head. Kol turned back to the men putting up the lights. The incline of his head let me know that he was listening in.

My elder brother looked out at the yard. As soon as a loud machine with a human riding on it started up he squeezed my hand in approval. No one was going to hear us now, except for Kol. Glancing down at me he said, "I had a feeling she was planning something. She told you she was going to 'fix this', do you know what she meant by that?"

I shook my head. "It definitely wasn't about my sickness. It was almost sounded like it was a generalization."

"Something's going to happen tonight, Natalya, so be prepared. Keep together, and don't go anywhere alone."

I leaned in to his shoulder and hugged his arm. Knowing that my twin could hear us, I most definitely wouldn't have to worry about being by myself.

"I never go anywhere alone. I've always got Kol."

* * *

**A/N **This chapter felt like it took forever to write. I kept rewriting it and rewriting it. All of it had to do with the conversation that took place with Esther and Natalya. I finally just picked one and went with it. It gives you a little into what happened when Ayana and Esther tried the spell, but that will eventually take place in one of the Past chapters. Which should be happening soon.

Thanks to all of you who favorited, followed, and reviewed.

Let me know what you think, leave a review!


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